Hey everyone, Hirokichi here. Today I’m digging into a question almost everyone wonders about at some point: how much savings do other people actually have? Using the “Public Opinion Survey on Household Financial Behavior 2025,” released in December 2025 by Japan’s Financial Literacy and Education Corporation (J-FLEC), I’ve put together a breakdown of financial asset holdings by age group, comparing single-person households and two-or-more-person households. Hopefully this gives you a useful benchmark for where you stand.
Average vs median: know the difference first
Before looking at the numbers, it’s worth understanding the difference between the average and the median, since it changes how you should read this data.
The average is calculated by adding up every household’s financial assets and dividing by the number of households. Because a small number of very wealthy households pull the number up, the average tends to look higher than what most people actually experience. The median, on the other hand, is the value sitting right in the middle when you line up every household from highest to lowest. Half of households hold more than the median, and half hold less, so it’s generally considered a more realistic benchmark.
Some of the figures below might make you think “wait, people really have that much?” — but pairing the average with the median gives a much clearer picture of reality.
Two-or-more-person households: savings by age
Let’s start with two-or-more-person households (couples, families, etc.). Across all age groups, the overall average was JPY 19.4 million, with a median of JPY 7.2 million (including households with no financial assets at all). By age group, the results were as follows.
In their 20s, the average was JPY 5.25 million with a median of JPY 1.25 million. In their 30s, the average was JPY 10.96 million with a median of JPY 3.11 million. In their 40s, the average was JPY 14.86 million with a median of JPY 5.0 million. In their 50s, the average was JPY 19.08 million with a median of JPY 7.0 million. In their 60s, the average was JPY 26.83 million with a median of JPY 14.0 million. In their 70s, the average was JPY 24.16 million with a median of JPY 11.78 million.
You can see a clear upward trend as households get older, peaking in their 60s. This likely reflects retirement payouts and households resuming savings once education costs have passed their peak. That said, in every age group the median is less than half the average, which tells us the gap between households is quite wide.
Single-person households: savings by age
Next, let’s look at single-person households. The overall average was JPY 9.19 million, with a median of JPY 1.3 million. By age group: in their 20s, the average was JPY 2.55 million with a median of JPY 370,000. In their 30s, the average was JPY 5.01 million with a median of JPY 1.0 million. In their 40s, the average was JPY 8.59 million with a median of JPY 1.0 million. In their 50s, the average was JPY 9.99 million with a median of JPY 1.2 million. In their 60s, the average was JPY 13.64 million with a median of JPY 3.0 million. In their 70s, the average was JPY 14.89 million with a median of JPY 5.0 million.
The average for single-person households also rises with age, but what stands out is that the median stays flat at around JPY 1 million all the way through the 40s. When you’re on your own, you’re covering all of your income and expenses by yourself — so while there’s no education-cost burden, housing and living costs tend to eat into the budget, making it harder to build up substantial savings during these years.
Single vs two-or-more: why is the gap so wide?
Comparing the median figures for the two household types makes the gap very clear.
In the 20s and 30s, the gap is still relatively small. But from the 40s onward it widens sharply — by the 60s, the median for two-or-more-person households is JPY 14.0 million versus just JPY 3.0 million for single-person households, more than a fourfold difference.
A few things likely explain this gap: households with more people often have more income sources (such as dual-income couples), and big financial decisions like mortgages or insurance can be discussed and shared between partners. Single-person households, by contrast, have more freedom since income and spending are entirely self-contained, but they’re also more directly exposed to unexpected expenses or a drop in income. I don’t think this means single households are simply at a disadvantage — it’s more that while spending is easier to control on your own, you’re also the only one setting the pace for your own asset building.
What to keep in mind by age group
Based on this data, here’s how I’d break down the key takeaways by age group.
(1) 20s and 30s: the median is still small at this stage, so I think what matters more than the actual amount is whether you’ve built a habit of saving and investing. Using something like NISA (Japan’s tax-free investment account) to start small, regular investments early can make a real difference in how things grow from your 40s onward.
(2) 40s and 50s: this is when education costs and mortgage payments tend to pile up, but the data shows that the differences that emerge here carry straight through into retirement assets. It’s worth trying to gradually increase the share of income you set aside for savings before you spend the rest.
(3) 60s and beyond: this is when retirement payouts often cause a big jump in assets, but it’s also the age group where the gap between the average and the median is widest. The focus here shifts to how you draw down and continue managing those assets — spending carefully while still keeping some of it invested.
Across every age group and household type, the common thread is this: rather than getting caught up in the average, it’s more useful to first understand your own median — that is, where you actually stand — and build from there, step by step. I post monthly updates on how I’m building my own assets in my total asset disclosure series, so feel free to check that out too.
See the full total asset disclosure archive here
Wrapping up
In this post, I looked at savings by age and household type based on J-FLEC’s 2025 survey. Whether you’re in a single-person or two-or-more-person household, a clear gap in asset building starts to show up from your 40s onward, and the median gives a much more realistic picture than the average. There’s no need to panic comparing yourself to others, but knowing where you actually stand right now is a solid first step toward building your assets going forward.
日本語版はこちら → 日本語版
* This article is for informational purposes only and does not recommend any specific investment. Please make investment decisions at your own responsibility.
(Source: Japan Financial Literacy and Education Corporation (J-FLEC), “Public Opinion Survey on Household Financial Behavior 2025” — Two-or-more-person households survey and Single-person households survey)
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